Interruptions

About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, "Cornelius!" Acts 10:3 (NASB)

On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance;  Acts 10:9-10 (NASB)

I would like to think that if I saw a vision in the middle of my prayer time, that I would respond to it and then immediately act upon it afterward.  But, sometimes I fear that I would be more like Ebenezer Scrooge, blaming the vision on some underdone food, rationalizing it all away once the vision was over.

Which brings me to the real thought I had about these verses.  They are really less about the visions and more about the idea of being interrupted in certain tasks.  The goal in both situations was prayer.  (It isn't specifically stated in verse three that Cornelius was praying, but verse two had just mentioned that Cornelius prayed to God continually, and the ninth hour was an expected prayer time for Jews.)  In both situations, these men are interrupted in their prayer time. 

But, what strikes me the most is not the interruption of the visions as much as Peter's first interruption during his prayer time.  He was hungry.  So, he got up and asked for food to be prepared, and then he went back to praying.  Acknowledging the hunger allowed for two things.  First, the vision was less about food and more about breaking out of tradition, and acknowledging his hunger allowed Peter to consider the meaning of the vision.  Secondly, the fact that food was already being prepared allowed for the entertaining of unexpected guests!

God used an average, everyday need in the middle of Peter's prayer time to accomplish a purpose.  I have a lot of average, everyday interruptions in the middle of my prayer times and Bible reading.  Whether it's a child, a wailing cat, a growling stomach, or some other mundane need, I rarely see it as God's hand.  Instead, it's just an interruption.  Often I get agitated and allow myself to be distracted.  Sometimes, I just throw my hands up and say, "That's it!  I give up!" 

Now, tell me, how can God use that? 

My challenge for today is this...to see God's hand more than I see the devil's (oh, he's just really trying to distract me today! - yep, we all say it, don't we?), and to allow God to work through interruptions knowing that they just could very well be specifically ordained by Him to accomplish His purpose through me!